Instagram story viewer> @cheryl__finley> Posts

Cheryl Finley

@cheryl__finley

2.8K

followers

556

following

Director, @auc_artcollective @spelman_college | Co-Curator, ‘Free as They Want to Be’ | Co-Organizer, @blackportraitures & 2026 Driskell Prize Winner

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Congratulations to Dr. Cheryl Finley on receiving the 2026 David C. Driskell Prize, one of the nation’s leading honors in African American art and art history. Dr. Finley is the director of the Atlanta University Center Art History + Curatorial Studies Collective at Spelman College.

This recognition reflects her distinguished scholarship, leadership, and lasting contributions to the field. by @cheryl__finley

2k

49

23 days ago

Hear from our 2026 Driskell Prize Recipient Cheryl Finley.

Watch the full video on the High Museum YouTube channel. by @cheryl__finley

915

65

25 days ago

✨What an incredible night! Thanks to our patrons, sponsors, and performers (@alicesmithmusic, @djmars404 , @bryanmichaelcox) for making the 21st Annual David C. Driskell Prize Gala an unforgettable celebration. Congratulations to this year’s prize recipient Cheryl Finley.

Established by the High in 2005, the David C. Driskell Prize is the first national award to honor and celebrate contributions to the field of African American art and art history. by @cheryl__finley

2k

82

a month ago

Congratulations to our 2026 Driskell Prize Recipient Cheryl Finley.

Cheryl Finley’s career as a respected and award-winning art scholar, educator and author spans two decades and has consistently focused on collaboration and mentorship among her peers and students. Since 2019, she has served as the director of the Atlanta University Center Art History + Curatorial Studies Collective at Spelman (@auc_artcollective). Through the Collective, Finley has helped build one of the country’s most important pipelines for emerging Black arts professionals, scholars and curators, connecting students from the world’s largest consortium of historically Black colleges and universities with leading cultural organizations and museums, including the High. by @cheryl__finley

2k

190

a month ago

Diversifying elite cultural institutions requires intentionally building robust educational and professional pathways for underrepresented scholars within the art world.🎨

Renowned art historian and academic leader Dr. Cheryl Finley is championing this mission, leveraging major prize funding to expand critical pipelines for Black talent in art history, curatorial studies, and museum leadership.

Through her visionary direction of the Atlanta University Center Art History + Curatorial Studies Collective, Finley is equipping a new generation of students with the necessary resources to transform the global arts economy.

Tap AfroTech Latest News at the 🔗 in bio for the full story. #AFROTECH by @cheryl__finley

961

54

a month ago

Established by the High Museum of Art in 2005, the David C. Driskell Prize in African American Art and Art History recognizes contributions to African American art by some of the leading scholars and artists from around the country. Named in honor of the late artist and scholar David C. Driskell, this prize is the first in the country to recognize the importance of African American art.

Later this week, we will celebrate the 21st Annual David C. Driskell Prize Gala with this year’s recipient Cheryl Finley. by @cheryl__finley

2k

61

a month ago

BTS at BTA ✨

Many thanks to Edward and Robert for hosting such a wonderful discussion. taken in Martha's Vineyard by @cheryl__finley

3

5

2 months ago

Thank you to everyone who joined us today for our free shuttle tour of this month’s site-wide exhibition, “Free as they want to be: Artists Committed to Memory”, curated by Deborah Willis, Ph.D. and Cheryl Finley, Ph.D.

A special thank you to Deborah Willis, Ph.D. for joining us as well in making this experience even more magical.

Make sure to stop by the gallery tomorrow, Sunday, August 9, at 4pm for Curator Talk with Deborah Willis, Ph.D.

For those interested in joining us in our next shuttle date, you can register at batonrougegallery.org/fatwtb-shuttles, for Saturday, August 22, from 12-3:30pm.

📸 @_ccc_photo taken in Baton Rouge Gallery - center for contemporary art by @cheryl__finley

109

6

2 months ago

Congratulations to the 2026 David C. Driskell Prize recipient, Spelman College professor Cheryl Finley, in recognition of her influence on African American art history and scholarship and the next generation of cultural leaders.

Read more at ESSENCE.com. by @cheryl__finley

2k

147

5 months ago

Black art museums carry generations of hope on their shoulders.

The 2005 opening of @moadsf, for instance, was decades in the making and owing to the tenacity of Willie Brown, the city’s first Black mayor, who—together with a team of community members—understood that after years of urban renewal in the 1970s and 1980s led to the gutting and razing of Black neighborhoods, Black San Franciscans needed a permanent place to call their own.

The ambitions of Black museums are often met with challenges, including a near-perfect storm of financial pressures, which has forced the development of out-of-the-box fundraising strategies. The unprecedented scrutiny of any race-driven mission by the current U.S. administration has only made that paradigm worse.

So let’s use this moment to consider: What is a Black museum’s impact in 2026? How does that impact translate to funding? And how do these institutions—even in our most challenging cultural and political chapters—still find room to preserve and build on their legacies?

To answer these questions, CULTURED assembled a roundtable of three Black women in key roles at some of the most well-respected Black institutions in the U.S.: @keyjolee of the aforementioned Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) in San Francisco; @cheryl__finley, of the Atlanta University Center Art History and Curatorial Studies Collective (@auc_artcollective); and Amy Andrieux (@missaimstar) of the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts (@mocada_museum) in New York.

For CULTURED, these women share what led them to their current roles, why they remain committed, and how, in moments like these, it’s even more urgent, as Andrieux puts it, “to raise the volume and stay loud.” Link in bio to read their conversation now.

Words: Melissa Smith by @cheryl__finley

2k

45

8 months ago

Mary Poppins weathering the 60th Venice Biennale! @drprofblacklady @blackportraitures @auc_artcollective by @cheryl__finley

381

56

2 years ago

The amazing Renee Cox in Conversation with Karen Comer Lowe @utaartistspace @spelmanmuseum @spelman_college @spelman_avc @myra.greene.studio @kcloartsy Happening NOW!! In ATL! @auc_artcollective by @cheryl__finley

259

7

3 years ago